GREENSBORO, N.C. – Work has started on the renovation of a facility that will house the meat and seafood processing operations of Southern Foods, a unit of family owned Cheney Brothers Inc.

Plans for the 88,000-sq.-ft. unfinished precast concrete building include 14,250 sq. ft. of dry storage; 13,500 sq. ft. of food processing space; a 12,660 sq.-ft. office mezzanine; 11,585 sq. ft. of freezers; and 11,429 sq. ft. for coolers and dock. Dry dock and fish dock space will cover nearly 5,000 sq. ft. and will be fitted with 26-ft. clear height racking, a test kitchen, dry meat aging room, cheese processing room and express purchasing for the general public. A M King, an integrated design-build firm based in Charlotte, North Carolina, is leading the project.

When complete, Southern Foods expects the modern space to strengthen and grow the company’s Southeast business with its large test kitchen and walk-up market serving as points of differentiation from competitors.

The project collaboration with Cheney Brothers is the second for A M King. In April, the design-build firm completed a 265,000-sq.-ft. cold storage expansion in Statesville, North Carolina. The project included a refrigeration system that supports numerous interior temperature zones; renovation of a 34,686-sq.-ft. existing dry warehouse and conversion of a 37,388-sq.-ft. existing cold storage space to ambient temperature storage. The firm also developed a 2,000-sq.-ft. full commercial test kitchen; a new interior office mezzanine and 25 new dock doors and other improvements.

Southern Foods is a full-service supplier of seafood, premium meats, artisanal cheese and global and local specialty goods. The company offers Certified Angus Beef, Cheshire Pork, Carolina Bison and other specialty food brands.